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Newcastle owners ‘reach decision’ on who will be in charge and manage first game

Newcastle owners reportedly ‘reach decision’ on who will be in charge and manage the first game when they face Tottenham live on Sky.

Steve Bruce will be sacked this week with the Premier League outfit’s hierarchy said to have decided the Magpies need a new direction relatively quick in a bid to save their season at this early stage.

The new owners will place Graeme Jones in charge against Tottenham next weekend in the club’s first game since the Saudi-backed £305million takeover.

Newcastle United - Graeme Jones joins Magpies' coaching staff

Newcastle owners ‘reach decision’ on who will be in charge and manage first game (Photo Credit: Newcastle United)

And that means assistant coach Graeme Jones will be placed in caretaker charge for the sell-out home clash against Spurs next Sunday afternoon.

It could be that he’s also at the helm for the next few weeks as the search for Bruce’s permanent replacement gets underway.

Newcastle’s ultimate aim is to win the Premier League within 5-10 years while also competing for the other trophies given the huge wealth that will be at their disposal following the takeover by a Saudi-backed consortium.

However, given the club are 19th in the table, the immediate priority will be to bring in a manager with Premier League experience.

Amanda Staveley, who now owns 10% of the club following the takeover, is expected to hold talks with Bruce this week, with Jones set to be in charge in time for the Tottenham game.

Former Liverpool academy director Frank McParland will lead the search for a new boss, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Though it may take some time for Newcastle’s owners to find the man they want.

Zinedine Zidane’s name has been mentioned as a possibility but there appears to be little appetite to appoint the former Real Madrid chief to the up-coming vacancy.

Rafa Benitez was previously linked with a return to St James’ Park, but his appointment in the Everton hotseat this summer scuppered that plan.

One problem decision-makers have been confronted with this week has been the pace with which the takeover went through.

Lists of players and managers have been compiled and then re-drawn due to inevitable changes in the footballing landscape while the new owners waited for a decision in their favour during the past four years in which they have been plotting this deal.

The slow speed of events of the past few days that have unfolded means that while Bruce’s exit is a formality, there was no-one immediately lined-up to take over.

The takeover was confirmed on Thursday night, ending Mike Ashley’s 14-year tenure as the club’s owner.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund now owns 80% of the club, with the remaining 20% split between Staveley and the Reuben brothers.

MORE ON GRAEME JONES:

Graeme Jones is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a forward.

His playing career, which spanned between 1991 and 2006, included spells at North Shields, Bridlington Town, Doncaster Rovers, Wigan Athletic, St Johnstone, Southend United, Boston United, Bury, Clyde and Hamilton Academical.

He went into coaching in 2007, in which he became the assistant manager of Swansea City. Jones is notable as being the assistant to Roberto Martínez between 2007 and 2018, where he enjoyed spells at Swansea, Wigan Athletic, Everton and the Belgian national team. After leaving Belgium in 2018, he worked as assistant manager of Darren Moore at West Bromwich Albion, a role he held until March 2019. Jones was appointed at his first managerial position at newly promoted Championship club Luton Town in May 2019. He left the position in April 2020, going on to serve in assistant coaching roles at Bournemouth and Newcastle United.

On the 25th of May 2021, it was confirmed that Jones would join Gareth Southgate’s England coaching staff for the duration of UEFA Euro 2020, in which the national team reached the Final and lost to Italy on penalties.

Senior career
1991–1992 – North Shields
1992–1993 – Bridlington Town – ? matches (21 goals)
1993–1996 – Doncaster Rovers – 92 matches (26 goals)
1996–1999 – Wigan Athletic – 96 matches (44 goals)
1999–2002 – St Johnstone – 41 matches (7 goals)
2002–2003 – Southend United – 21 matches (2 goals)
2003–2004 – Boston United – 36 matches (7 goals)
2004–2005 – Bury – 3 matches (1 goal)
2005 – Clyde – 13 matches (2 goals)
2005–2006 – Hamilton Academical – 13 matches (3 goals)
Total – 315 matches (113 goals)

SEE MORE: Newcastle takeover: Staveley’s plans, Ashley’s admission and Shearer’s concerns

SKY BET ODDS SAY:

Antonio Conte – 7/2
Roberto Martinez – 4/1
Steven Gerrard – 7/1
Eddie Howe – 8/1
Graham Potter – 10/1
Zinedine Zidane – 11/1

Fans reacted as Newcastle owners reportedly ‘reach a decision’ on who will be in charge and manage the first game…

@nathanj3001: Brutal for him. He is a Newcastle fan and he hasn’t done the worst job in the world. Most spurs thing ever though that the caretaker will get a bounce and Newcastle are gonna play like prime Barca v them now

@Liverpool_8: Surprised he hasn’t been sacked already

@DanSawyers: “I’ve always been a Derby fan”

@casson933: Best news to wake up to! 🎉

@aaroncpfc: still not really too scared because we’re forgetting how shit their current squad is

@jaymefurey: Disgraceful the way this man is being treated. Broke his back for them and the minute money comes in he’s told jog on to be replaced with a caretaker manager

@JTedders92: Poor git being sacked before a proper replacement even lined up 😂 Think every football fans wants to see Bruce with the January window money

@IocaIpIa999tic: Fuck sake why did this have to happen before we play them

@WesSmith14: Is it me or is the football romance screaming that Newcastle are going to beat Spurs

@Jay89R: 😂😂 i give it 30mins until a pass out from the back turns into a Spurs goal… Jones is an absolute sausage

@rileyeagles: New manager’s first game is against us, peak 🤣

@Mark_CPFC: Ah so potentially first game for new manager is against us. Oh well we will have Eze back so 5-0 win palace

@Lee_Tomo1: Why not keep him until a proper manager is found?

@simonw1991: Unnecessarily harsh ahead of the bloke’s 1000th game as a manager.

@ActualOllieKay: Multi billion quid war chest and Graeme Jones at the front of it… worth betting on that Spurs game to be over 6 goals.

@xnufcjames: OHHHHH YESSSSSS

@dan_pettit23: Graeme Jones who has zero positive managerial experience and arguably already has a huge impact on a side that fans aren’t happy with. It’s a disaster waiting to happen 🤣

@DavidTe87676169: I’m slowly coming around to the idea of Graeme Jones. He knows the lads. Since working with Martinez and the Belgian squad and Southgate and the England squad he has become familiar with coaching world-class players. Caretaker as a trial period up to January. If he bombs, nothing lost

@Jaz340: Why not he has a passion for the club and in the short term could provide vital plus know the players

@RayC1945: After poll showing 95% of fans wanted Bruce out, this was probably the easiest decision ever, and they are right to do it quickly. Shows intent to change and move forward

@nealetoon: Brendon Rodgers or Gerrard for me as manager #nufc

@GeordieInOz85: Imagine within the space of 5 days we’ve gone from Ashley and Bruce to being the richest club in the world and now Conte is apparently interested in the job.

@TomBlow98: Graeme Jones was awful at Luton… his reward – Coaching staff at Newcastle and England to now caretaker manager at Newcastle. Bloke is stealing a living

@JayBee150889: Must of done something right as Southgate chose him as one of the 4 coaches for the euros (where we got to the final)

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